Following the Leader
by MyFaeLady
Summary: Sarah learns to dance as Jareth watches on, preplexed, jealous, and yet full of admiration for her... But, when overly agressive boys get interested in his Darling and start to place bets on her, Jareth takes things into his own hands.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:I have entitled this little story "Following the Leader".

Those of you who dance will realize the importance of the phrase... those who have yet to discover dancing will learn it here. After all, it is a theme that runs through the entire history of the two royal rulers of the Labyrinth. And, just to warn you - the Lady Sarah does not know i am making this public... direct any comments and questions to me, and i shall find out the answers form the One who was there. The Goblin King.

lol, ok seriously - i love reviews, so please don't hesitate - its just a click and a few key-taps away! and it gives so much encouragement!

LadyTari aka MyFaeLady

1

"So you bet… what?" Jake asked with a sideways glance at the new girl in class.

"Shall we say…50 bucks?" His friend answered, lowering his voice.

"50? On what, getting her to go out with one of us?"

"No, that wouldn't be very interesting. And too easy. I wouldn't give you 5 if you did that. And I could do that anyway. "

The business-economic major was quite sure of himself when it came to money and wagers. And girls, for that matter.

"Fine, then what?"

"You know what. If you can't do it, just say so. She's a cute one."

The girl in question looked around the huge room, taking in the battered hardwood floor and the soon-to-be dancers, gathering on the walls like trapped bugs inside a glass jar. Avoiding the center at all cost.

She brushed her dark hair back nervously. She'd liked the first and second lesson very much, but felt like a complete klutz none the less.

The foxtrot had seemed easy when it was demonstrated, but it was a completely different thing in practice. With partners as new to it as she was, Sarah found herself doing most of the leading and none of the following.

She had felt like a clown, really – having to guide five-year-olds through the steps of some stupid birthday routine.

She had appreciated a forceful lead at the tender age of 15, and though it did not quite agree with her, she knew the worth of it well. So far, swing looked fun and wasn't too hard. Currently, it was at the top of her short favorites list.

Rumor had it that today would be tango.

"Ok, 50 bucks says I'll get further with her than you will."

Adam was eager to get this deal rolling.

He had noticed the dark-haired, dreamy-eyed stranger from the first. She couldn't move worth a damn yet, but there was something about her which drew him. If resources and labor were put in, she would make an enviable girlfriend and dancing partner.

The two female roles were completely inseparable in his mind.

"Deal. But you'd better play fair – she's got to be willing," Jake supplemented.

Less in-you-face than Adam, he was never the less a force to be reckoned with when it came to getting the girls. He embraced the sweet and sensitive stereotype fully, always making for a soft but unavoidable presence.

"Of course. I promise."

The grin on Adams face appeared in spite of his sincere tone. Of course she'll be willing. He would see to that. Personally.

Jareth sprang from his throne in rage. Letting a crystal fly through the multitude of his goblin subjects, all in various stages of drunkenness, he paced the throne room.

Exactly *WHAT* were those two slimy, human creeps planning to do?

He did *NOT* just hear that little bet, did he?

The bastards! The Bog of Eternal Stench would be too much of a reward for them!

Oh.

But then, he DID hear that just now. And it was good thing he was watching, too.

"And I can promise that if any one of you two lay a paw on Sarah, you'll pay. I'll see to that."

_Personally_.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the support, guys!

Here's chapter 2, it will give a little more detail on Jareth watching Sarah (thanks Original Cliche for pointing out that its not clear). Oh Solea! i know EXACTLY what your talkin' about. And boy do i wish i had J watching out for me too! Perhaps... no, getting carried away, sorry:) back to story!

LadyTari

2

Jareth approved of dancing, even wanted to see Sarah learn – such a beauty as she would do well to know how to move gracefully and follow the lead of her partner.

Especially if that partner were he.

And the future Queen of the Underground, as he saw Sarah ever since she called to him, needs must know how to dance for formal occasions such as balls.

But when Sarah's first lesson actually rolled round, Jareth experienced a whole row of unpleasant surprises.

First of all, it occurred to him that in order to learn how to dance, Sarah would need to dance with a partner.

That partner would not be him.

As that partner couldn't be him, it would have to be someone else.

Someone else touching and holding and leading his Sarah.

Someone else dictating the rhythm of her steps and controlling her movements.

He sincerely wished them luck, but the thought of other males near Sarah drove him up the walls of his mind, throne room, castle, and labyrinth.

Initially, he had tried not watching her, hoping that it would help his… ahem… uneasiness, but found that his imagination was worse than a crystal in the level of graphic, R-rated fiction that it supplied him with. So, he watched her through her first two lessons.

She attracted all sorts of attention. That he could see. The teacher liked her, but was the least of Jareth's concerns. He was a sweet old man who would only help her. All the better for him – his life had not suddenly acquired the chance of transforming into a living hell. As for the other college boys surrounding her…

If any of them had a strange feeling of being closely watched, it wasn't due to a proneness to paranoia.

_Why couldn't she have just stayed? Things would have been so much less complicated that way!_ - thought Jareth for about the thousandth time.

He knew that she was still too much of a child when the goblins let her into the Labyrinth, knew that she needed to grow up aboveground and mature enough to appreciate him for more than just his smoke and mirrors.

Though they were very key to the rest of him, too, that he had to admit.

But she had to see him for more than a black and white villain from a storybook. So Jareth had let her go that fated thirteenth hour, though it hurt him. And ever since, he had been patiently watching and waiting for his Sarah.

He had had to endure her first boyfriend, sophomore year of high school. That had been rather a torturous experience, especially since he could not interfere very much at all.

By the end of the two-month long "relationship", however, he had learned how to do that well enough to see it to an end.

Not that he would ever go against Sarah's heart – but the guy was a worthless one, and he felt Sarah's discomfort in his presence. It was his cue, really. Naturally, she went through crying and heartbreak and all of that, and it hurt that he could not be there to comfort her, as she considered him either evil or vanquished.

In some of her dreams, he came to comfort her, but she ran from him most of the time, her mind refusing to accept his presence.

Never the less, he liked to think of that experience as a definite first step towards her maturity as a woman. If thought of in those terms, he could definitely see how it was worth it. Though seeing another guy pin her down and tongue-kiss her, was one of the worst experiences of his ageless life. At least she had hated the process. It made him feel better about the situation, but worse towards the guy.

And it also meant that, as she now felt intense aversion to it, he'd have to re-introduce her to the whole concept of kissing

Which wasn't a very bad thing.

If done properly, of course.

And now, dancing.

He knew he needed to look at this, too, as another step towards his goal.

But, by crystals, it was hard!

Swing and foxtrot were, though testing on the Goblin King's sanity, still manageable. The thought of the upcoming Tango lesson, however, was just a tad bit over the edge for him.

He had been unable to sleep the night before, imagining it in full detail.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi! I love you - all of my reviewers- very much - glad you guys are liking this, thank you!

Thanx to you i'm actually making time to write this b/n work, school, hw...dancing... LOL

Ok, here's the next one!

3

He had not been the only one to do so.

Sarah had spent her night tossing and turning as well.

All of the tango dancers she had ever seen had moved so gracefully and exactly, and she felt herself wither in shame from the thought of stepping into their role.

Also, she was not good at following, which, she had heard, was a definite must in tango.

"Oh, you're quite good at following Sarah…" Jareth sighed with a pointed look at his crystal.

_When you have a strong partner. Or when you don't think that there's any other choice…_

His laughter cut through the silence of the slumbering castle. Those goblins still sober enough to hear it shivered and curled up in fear. Their King had been behaving oddly as of late. Talking to himself and his solid bubbles… smashing things and pacing for no reason. Laughing in the middle of the night.

But, what else was new, really?

Ever since the girl-who-ate-the-peach-who-forgot-everything (as Sarah was now affectionately known amongst the Goblins) left the Underground, the King had not been himself.

Lately, everything's been reminding him of the babe with the power.

Wishing _she_ could muster enough power to untie the knots in her stomach and smush every last butterfly fluttering around in there, Sarah had finally dozed off, dreaming that the lesson she so dreaded never happened, but that she just came home knowing the tango.

That was not, however, what life had in store for her.

short, i know! but i'll post two to compensate!


	4. Chapter 4

4

What life had in store was…well… a tango.

"The most important part of the tango" the old teacher said after teaching the solo steps to the guys and girls of the class, as they stood facing each other – two armies on a battlefield, executing drills, readying for hand-to-hand combat, "is to remember that the man… is the PREDATOR - "

Sarah felt her stomach plummet down, down _into a dark and terrible oubliette_…

The predator, eh?

Gee, that didn't sound _at all_ familiar. No, no flashbacks to fifteen or anything… _of what speaketh thou?_

"- and the woman – the fleeing PREY."

The class grinned from ear to ear, some in acknowledgement of this Fact of Life, some in frustration that it didn't always work out this way, and some in mere embarrassment.

Among the last group was Sarah, who was slowly loosing the wish to be alive today.

This was a little too much for her face up to. Not that she hadn't done it before.

"So now, ladies – choose a partner."

Swallowing was rather hard. Rather impossible, actually.

But, the ranks of her army moved out, though a bit tentatively, to conquer the enemy, and Sarah had to move out with it, or face further embarrassment.

"Choosing" didn't happen this time.

By the time she had attempted to unglue her eyes from the ground, on which they had been dutifully concentrating, most of the partners around her were taken. Hesitantly, she glanced up along the wall. Sure enough – there they were, the 2 untaken – trying to escape notice just as hard as she was.

Wallflowers anonymous, anyone?

But as they were guys, it was less likely to happen. As in any dance class, the dragged- in and threatened-in "gentlemen" were dominated hands-down by the herd of "ladies" eager to dance.

Watching the TAs demonstrate the tango step they were about to learn, Sarah felt herself shiver.

Was it just her, or were the TAs indecently close? Maybe those two were just a couple, though, unable to keep hands AND legs off of each other… but then, the others were doing the same thing… and how could she do the steps with someone in the way like that?

And what with the whole predator/prey thing, Sarah felt very uncomfortable about this dance. Even about watching it.

"EVERYONE IN DANCE POSITION!"

Assuming dance position with her partner, Sarah shifted gingerly from foot to foot.

Two feet away, her tango partner coughed, trying and failing to look professional.

"Ok, everyone, on my count – guys forward with your left, ladies, back with your right – FORWARD, FORWARD… FORWARD, SIDE, TOGETHER."

The class, paired up, made their first set of clumsy steps together with their partners.

Some tripped over each other, some went the wrong way, some did fairly well, some missed the count altogether.

This time, Sarah and her meek dance partner ended up better than most. They went the right way, Sarah avoided getting stepped on, and no one ran into them.

Jareth took a deep breath, trying to tell himself to enjoy this experience.

Sarah was obviously uncomfortable, and her partner just as much so. At least he wasn't taking advantage of the situation. It was all really rather funny. Except one thing was very definitely off…

But Jareth liked it much better this way. Hopefully no one would take notice.

He would correct her tango position later.

_Himself_.

"SLOW, SLOW, QUICK-QUICK, together!"- the teacher counted again, and the class moved out further yet. After the fifth or so time of this, most had caught on.

Sarah was pretty damn well pleased with herself. Dancing the tango, no fear, no sweat. Look at her – she knew the basic step, the promenade, - though her partner couldn't turn without tripping over himself – and even that dipping thing… Well, sort of…

She lifted up her head and her eyes flashed out with queenly air, as she executed the drills with certain a snappiness she had so often admired in the professional dancers from her motley assortment of youtube videos.

She was rather enjoying this, Jareth noticed.

Well, who'd have thought?

His little Sarah actually _liking_ a dance as erotic as the tango.

She certainly looked gorgeous, especially now that she had gained some confidence. Sureness and beauty flashed in her every movement – she was obviously enjoying each step she took.

Her partner would need to be different, of course… and her attire as well.

Perhaps - a sleek red ball gown. Slitted, naturally… Her dark hair lifted up into a loose knot at the nape of that delicate neck … loose wisps of it flying up with every turn… a single red rose flashing in the candlelight… lights shining in the depths of those strikingly green, deer-like eyes… the velvet of her pupils deepening, closer and closer… until her lashes fluttered down over them in surrender to his lead…

Wrapped up in his fantasy-vision of Sarah, the Goblin King didn't notice her wildly careening and overly-inflated level of confidence.

It had always gotten her into trouble, hadn't it?

"I think I'm getting better…" she exclaimed, cocky now. "I could never do this before…"

"**It's a piece of cake**!"

Jareth snapped to attention, coming out of his reverie in disbelief. Hadn't that girl learned _anything_ in the Underground?

Oh dear.

Sarah might have said those words to her silent dance partner, for lack of anyone else to share her newfound confidence with, but the air around her stopped to take in the long-forgotten vibration of their sound…

"So the tango's a piece of cake, is it…?" it seemed to ask. "Lets see how you deal with this little slice…"

Jareth dropped his head in his hands.

"Would you like to dance?" came Adams voice behind Sarah.

She spun around to face the tall and heavy TA. This one could definitely dance. It was him she had watched during the tango demonstration. She had been rather disturbed by how close he got to his partner.

And now he was asking her.

Fighting her fear, Sarah gave him her hand. It was strictly against class rules to refuse an invitation – something about "fostering a safe learning environment" and all that jazz... Personally, Sarah thought that it was put in place to ensure that the class wouldn't get clique-y. Not that a harmless little class policy could put a stop to _that._

But with Adam, she wouldn't have dared refuse anyway. There was something overbearing in his manner. Not compelling, _per se_ – but he was not someone who was easy to refuse, once his attention had been caught.

Adam led her away from The Herd of other girls, and Sarah felt more and more uncomfortable with each step. The Herd called, and she wanted badly to be amongst them, to lose herself and be indistinguishable in their moving and giggling ranks.

Apparently, there **was** a first time for everything.

"You will never be indistinguishable, Love." Jareth sighed, trying to keep the crystal in his hand from twitching with the combination of pity, anger and jealous rage.

He wasn't scoring very high in the fields of patience, calm and sanity at the moment.

He knew what was about to happen.

Sarah, who did not know, wanted to disappear.

Not only had they stopped in the center, away from everyone else, they were one of only three pairs. She felt like she was going to be offered up as a sacrifice to the dancing gods. The rest of the class, male and female, were on the sidelines, watching.

Watching them. Her.

"We'll now be reviewing the step called media-corte, the one with the dip. You're having some trouble with this one, I think."

Sarah closed her eyes, trying to breathe.

Adam grinned.

"GET IN DANCE POSITION!"

Jareth winced, biting his lips, as his teeth drew blood.

A nice fat juicy chapter for you! what did you think of the tango?


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, here is next chapter - sorry to have kept you waiting - my classes have finally caught up with me, as hard as i tried to run away! At least its a long chapter!

Thank you so much for your reviews! i hope you'll like where this goes!

LadyTari

5

He sincerely wished it could be Adam's blood he drew.

As dance position was vigorously assumed, Sarah found that she couldn't really breathe at all. Nope. Not even a little.

Close? CLOSE? Close was nothing compared to this.

This was more like skin-tight.

Thank goodness she didn't have to look at him now, her eyes going straight past his shoulder, past the row of hungry eyes and faces behind him, and to a spot of light-yellow color on the opposite wall.

_Just focus on the spot_, she told herself firmly,_ do not make eye contact; do not think about your relative body positions_.

She tried to ignore the noxious scent of his perfume, and the heat of his body. It wasn't repelling in itself, but its closeness, it's penetration of her personal space bubble - that she liked very much, thank you! - was utterly disturbing.

Adam was looking at her quite intensely from time to time. She could see it out of the corner of her eye, but did not give any indication that she could.

_Ignore it, and it will go away… _she thought, chanting it in her head like a mantra. But it did not go away. Perhaps because ignoring it was not an option.

Suddenly all of the metaphors she had heard and had been so confused by in connection to the tango became clear to her.

_Clear as crystal, actually._

Enlightenment hit her, like a cartoon light bulb going on inside her head. She could nearly hear it buzzing.

On the other hand, that might be the blood pounding in her ears.

Whichever.

Trying to force herself to breathe at a normal rate, Sarah waited, pressed up unwillingly against her dance partner. Ready to move, to run, to at least take that saving step back.

Jareth was attached to the crystal, forgetting to breathe as he watched Sarah struggle to remember how to. Lack of oxygen didn't really affect him, he was Fae.

But goodness! What was that insolent boy doing to his Sarah? Their legs were, _touching_! Locked! Jareth had never permitted himself to even hold her closely! And this piece of…

_Cake, indeed._

_She had to say it, didn't she?_

Her over-the-top confidence had made her move like a queen, and she did not remain unnoticed for long. Jake had been edging his way towards her, smiling as he went, nearly oozing charm, but Adam had simply taken big steps, less preparation and come from behind. He had gotten there first.

Now Jake watched with narrowed eyes as his rival took her into close contact

And Jareth watched both with cat-like attention. If he had a tail, it would definitely have been twitching in anger, frustration and concentration.

As the pairs in the center moved forward, completing a basic step before going into media-corte, Sarah discovered another very interesting and not terribly pleasant fact about dancing the tango for real.

She was practically joined at the hips with her partner, and he knew it far too well for her liking.

Much as she tried, she could not get away from him. His hold on her loosened enough to let her take her step back, but he went forward at the same time, right along with her, not letting her break the uncomfortable contact.

She even struggled - as much as she could without attracting attention.

He noticed and grinned wider, but held her tighter to him in response. She was pinned, trapped, held between his chest and…umm…well… _him_ in front and his hand at her back.

And there was no way out.

And it was all too familiar.

Although, she didn't remember Jareth being that physically forceful with her. She supposed he _could_ have been...

But she had struggled, and he had let go, not keeping her beyond a certain point of discomfort. Now, she was grateful for that, finding out that it could have been much worse.

She wondered now whether that was her achievement or his that she had broken away. She had always attributed it to her unyielding willpower and wish to leave. Now, she acknowledged that, had he wanted her to stay, he could have easily kept her there.

And more.

Strangely, she didn't feel properly upset at the thought. She felt slightly terrified with that prospect, and strangely excited as well. The unexpected thoughts registered in her mind, but there was no time to process.

Sighing, Jareth, shifted on his throne, sending a sleeping goblin flying with a kick.

At least she was acknowledging that he wasn't all evil. That was a good thing.

But at what cost?

To him, it was like watching his Sarah lose her innocence.

Good thing she wasn't really dwelling on that parallel, having realized it just now in an disconcerting flash of insight..

"Stop, stop everybody." – came the teacher's voice, like a saving grace.

Adam let her out of dance position and they stood facing the old man. Sarah couldn't stop shivering. He was still looking at her.

"Ok. Now, remember what I told you about tango. The man is the predator. PRE- DA-TOR. The woman, the FLEEING prey. Girls, you've got to look like you DON'T want to be caught. Got it? He's CHASING after you – you run away. And guys – be a little more macho. None of this wishy-washy stuff. MANLY, now!"

Talk about saving grace. It would have seemed impossible a mere 5 minutes ago, but the teacher had actually made the whole thing worse.

"DO IT AGAIN, I'll be watching you!"

Again trapped, Sarah prepared for flight. At least she didn't need to be a good actress to do this. Definitely no pretending necessary.

And no lines that were always getting forgotten.

This time, they danced to music. As it started and her partner moved forward, Sarah nearly sprang back, trying to get away.

Adam kept up.

The chase continued through the steps of the basic, promenade and media-corte moves ending with the fiasco of the dip.

Sarah's more experienced partner played, toying with her. He let her think she'd gotten away and then snatched her up to him again, feeling her breath escape her.

Jareth had to give him credit, he was doing a good job.

But that would by no means save the boy.

" Good! Good!" she heard the teachers voice somewhere nearby. "Now you've got it, Miss. Williams!"

The latter tried to look in the direction of his voice, but couldn't concentrate on much of anything, overawed by the confusion, sensuality and fast pace of the dance. The dip was just as miserable to her as the rest of it.

There went that ideal of a dance move. _In fact, there went the entire ideal of a tango, if not dancing in general_, she thought vehemently, feeling murderous and sorry for herself at the same time.

During the dip, she had suddenly found herself at her partner's complete mercy – held suspended between him and his hand, this time horizontally.

While she was still vertical, she had at least had the floor to dig her feet into, - all toes tensed, like a cat clinging to its favorite chair, unyielding in the face of any attempt at separation.

In the dip, she had nothing but her partner's arms.

Never-the-less, she clung to the floor in every way possible, not trusting her weight to Adam for an instant. It made the whole thing look and feel awkward, but Sarah was too dazed to care. There was already too much going on that was directly and very tangibly affecting her to leave room for attention to how she looked.

Jareth, however, managed to pay attention to everything, not Fae Goblin King for nothing.

He winced as, once again, her rough-handling partner forced her back into a dip, trying to break her of the habit of resisting.

_That's not how it's done_ – he wanted to scream – _and especially not how it's done to Sarah!_

He knew, more than anyone else, that an open challenge to Miss. Williams would result only in open and potentially violent warfare from her side.

And the young miss did not take to loosing very well at all.

She would fight with all she had, and that's were it would get rough, and she could easily get hurt in more ways than her still-naïve mind could fathom.

Jareth knew it. He had held those choices in the palm of his hand.

_So to speak, of course_.

And he had chosen to let her go, to let her come to him on her own, to win her trust by granting her the freedom to choose him. Naturally, he would leave her few other options, but that was not the point.

The point was that breaking Sarah into being handled the rough way would ultimately backfire and mess with her psychological health.

Not that she kept herself in tip-top shape in that department anyway.

But then again, every little bit helped, and Jareth was counting on literally every little bit to win her back to him.

This Adam character was _really _getting in the way.

As he led the stormy-eyed Sarah back to her place amongst the whispering Herd, Jareth was forming a pleasant plan in his wildly spinning Fae mind…


	6. Chapter 6

Hello all! I'm back from the realm of midterms and not sleeping...well...not quite all the way back, but somewhat. Enough to post more! Thanks for reviewing, sorry to have kept you waiting long!

Special thanks to Solea - who is now granted the official right to beat me with a stick for confusing "loose" with "lose"!I really appreciate you taking the time to write your review - i would most likely have continued on with the incorrect usage, blissfully unaware that i'm making a fool of myself. Thank you for reading! here's chapter 6!

LadyTari

6

Sarah was sitting in a sunny corner of the campus on a bench, legs pulled into her chest. She was rocking back and forth, attempting to come to herself.

It was hard.

She felt such a mixture of different things, she did not know what to think.

She knew that she wanted get away from the world and not see anyone from dance class. It was trying enough to have to think about her tango experience.

She felt…well, it was weird to say it, and perhaps it was a bit of an overstatement to feel this way, but she felt...violated, in a sense.

Adam had taken her, had wedged his legs between hers, had not let her go despite her obvious discomfort, and had roughly forced her into all of the movements, especially the dip. To the point where it physically hurt!

But another part of her pointed out that he had also moved her body and helped her do her part, guiding her through her steps and showing her off. She knew that was true as well.

He was a very aggressive lead, but she had not messed up once. He simply left her no room to. She knew that when she followed his lead and let her body be manipulated by him, she had looked good. When she fought him, she'd probably looked terrible.

She also felt flattered by his attention – a good dancer such as himself wasting time and effort in a beginner like her.

Going so far as to ask several times if she would be at this weekend's dance. Before today, Sarah didn't think she wanted to go, but now, she had already promised him to attend.

_How did that happen? _she wondered. It wasn't like her to give in to something she wasn't comfortable with. And to someone she was very uncomfortable with, at that.

Yet another part of her whispered that it was rather exciting to be that close to her partner. Scary, but alluring.

For no reason at all, her thoughts jumped to Jareth again. He had started her on the "scary but alluring" thing, really.

It was he who excited her imagination by, well – lets face it – his more than slightly seductive manner of talking to her, singing to her, dancing with her. His body language and tone of voice always kept her on the edge.

On a very interesting, alluring edge, now that she thought of it. Why hadn't she noticed it before?

She had been utterly obsessed with it all too. It had lessened as of late, her experience with the Labyrinth fading more and more the more time passed, but she had been very much obsessed.

Even before encountering him, when she had only met him through the Book and imagined him. It was that fatal combination of uneasiness and attraction in one that had always gotten her.

Adam, of course, was nothing like Jareth. Not even remotely close. He had no refinement in his manner, and obviously didn't plan very far ahead.

He was quite a bit more forceful and aggressive than Jareth had ever been, and preferred to physically manipulate her, rather than bringing emotion and imagination and fantasy into it.

Jareth, she was sure, had enjoyed toying with her mind and playing on her emotions, but this boy was apparently too busy with her body to even realize the possibility of the former.

_Which was a good thing_, she reminded herself. If either of them had done all three, Sarah would've lost her marbles by now.

She shivered despite the warmth of the sunlit bench.

Some inner feeling told her that she needed to experience all three of the afore-mentioned qualities in one person, as terrifying and thrilling as it was to imagine it.

And then it told her that she would.

She would.


	7. Chapter 7

7

"How very interesting, Love," the Goblin King mused, reading her thoughts, as he could read all of the ones featuring him.

_Maybe an aggressive lead did some good things for her, then. _

This was a fascinating direction to see her thoughts go in – he was very pleasantly surprised.

Did he just read that right? She didn't just wish for him to be physically manipulative as well, did she?

_Well, well, well._

It would seem that his plan just got the stamp of approval from H_er_ Majesty, then.

Lovely.

Adam lolled about on his chair, satisfaction hanging around him like the cloud of smoke from his cigarette.

Jake sulked.

It wasn't fair that Adam always got the girls by being so pushy and confident. He basically forced them into submission, and if they survived that first rough handling, they no longer responded well to any other, and especially not to Jake's light touches, wistful stares and enigmatic manner.

And the ooze of slimy charm. Always the ooze.

Now, the gloating would not stop! Adam was offering to be "generous" and call the bet off if Jake paid him $25, saving himself the humiliation of having to pay $50 later.

There was a dance coming up this weekend, and after class was over today, Adam kept asking Sarah if she was planning to come over and over again.

In the course of this broken-record questioning, Sarah's answers moved from "No, thanks" to "I'm not sure" all the way to "yes, I'm definitely coming," completing the 180 degree turn that Adam had wanted completed.

Having thus assured that he'd see her again, and have more chances to dance with her, Adam also made sure to take up all of her free time after class was over to prevent Jake from bumping into her "accidentally".

There was definitely reason to sulk.

Adam was also hoping to make her his partner for the up-coming little competition in the nearby town. It was going to be small and unimportant, of course, but it would secure his victory over Jake completely, if he could secure Sarah as his dancing partner. Needless to say, it would also give him some of that pocket money he always needed more of and raise his prestige in the eyes of the teacher.

Profits, profits, profits – so many it was hard to keep track of all of them.

Jake had no definite plan. He needed to get some one on one time with Sarah, definitely, but where it would go from there, he didn't know. He was basically convinced that Adam would get her, and was contemplating paying him off and forgetting about the whole thing. But he suddenly realized he really sort-of liked Sarah. More than an object to bet on.

She was something else. There was some other-worldly quality about her – something not quite mortal, not quite human… if there were slightly sinister and dark-side faeries, he could definitely see her as the queen of them.

But, no.

He shook his head.

She was a girl.

Just a girl.

_And she'll find herself in Adams bed just as quickly as the others had. _

There was practically nothing to be done to save her from that fate.

Pity, really.


	8. Chapter 8

Hi! thank you for bearing with me and reviewing! I did not mean to disappear again, but these things keep happening! Well, maybe it will give me more ideas later on. Ah, the drama...

enjoy!review!thanks!

love,

Tari

8

The dance had come and gone, leaving Sarah even more confused about her feelings for Adam, for dancing and for Jareth.

She had gotten along much better dancing with Adam, now that she knew what to expect from him. Not that she really knew what she should expect, but at least his manner of handling her no longer took her so much by surprise. They had learned the waltz, too, but Sarah wasn't too great at it.

She could dance it well only if the music touched her and caught her up – then she lost herself in it, and the steps came naturally. But that had only happened once. She didn't even remember who she was dancing with at the time… a guy named Jack… or Jake… she wasn't sure.

He had been nice to her, not at all forceful, but nothing too interesting. A little too slimy maybe. But a welcome break from being dragged around, at that.

The Viennese waltz was gorgeous, but she could not make her steps "travel" around the room to save her life. The back and forth, side to side thing she could manage, in fact, she really enjoyed it - but the traveling was too much. Too many steps, to tricky and too fast. She had attempted to follow Adam's lead through the Viennese, but very quickly found herself dragged again, nearly lifted off the ground when she couldn't keep up.

It didn't make her very happy – and that was putting it mildly.

She was also not thrilled that her thoughts of Jareth had increased and taken on a more romantic air then she had ever allowed them to before.

In fact, after dancing every slow dance, no matter with whom, but especially with Adam, she couldn't help but shut her eyes, imagining herself dancing with the Goblin King.

She couldn't help feeling that there was something lacking in every dance. That some secret ingredient was missing, even if she happened to be on beat and in synch with her partner. Which didn't happen all that often, to be honest.

Grudgingly, she had to admit that when, as a fifteen-year-old, she had danced with him, it had been the best dance of her life. Nothing compared to it, nothing could ever compare.

It was stupid to dwell on it, that she knew as well. She had somewhat suspected that Jareth was a fantasy creation of her childhood, but now she saw him in a different light. She saw that he had something no one else she knew had. Even as a dream creation, he was a lot more "real" than the guys surrounding her. He _knew_ her. Knew her inside and out, and accepted all of her.

But what was the use?

Sarah sighed, straightening her hair in front of the mirror at the dance studio. There really wasn't much she could do about it now.

Now, she had to make a decision.

Adam had asked her to be his dance partner for the upcoming competition. It was a lot of time and a lot of practice, and Sarah wasn't entirely sure she was good enough.

She also wasn't entirely sure that she should trust herself to Adam - he wasn't above taking advantage of any situation.

But, still - it was a flattering proposal. And competition sounded like fun.

Looking herself in the eye, Sarah cocked her head to the side. Maybe she would dare to live a little. Just this once.

"What do you think, Jareth?" she asked mockingly, attempting to make light of the feeling that she wasn't alone.

_Right Sarah, sure, you're being watched…uh-huh. In an empty bathroom. A girl's bathroom at that…_ she told herself venomously.

_The Goblin King really has better things to do than stalk you in here… if he exists at all._

The King in question smiled, showing pointed teeth.

_Of course he did_.

_Naturally._

So, she would compete, would she? He had hoped she would.

She needed to learn to show herself off and get used to people watching and admiring her. As future Queen, she would have to be perfectly comfortable with constant attention.

And it was flattering that she had thought to ask him.

"I think you should, Sarah… it would be a pleasure to watch."

"Sarah? Sarah – you ok?" the girl squatted down in front of Sarah Williams, trying to keep her miniskirt from revealing too much personal information. Not that she cared.

Sarah didn't notice, looking slightly off-color. She had been sitting in that particular corner of the bathroom for a full fifteen minutes. Adam had sent Jenny to check on her.

Not that Jenny was liking this one bit. Adam's new _toy_ was all good and great, but she had other plans for the hunk. And these plans did _not_ involve a certain Sarah Williams getting in her way. But the girl seemed too stupid to even notice that Adam was hitting on her, and she was just a beginner, so her dancing _really_ sucked.

Jenny hoped Adam would drop her quickly enough. She needed him partner-less and interested only in her.

"Yeah…fine… just peachy…" Sarah had read about hallucinations, but hearing things was not her idea of fun.

Especially things in THAT particular voice. And in direct answer to her jesting remark.

_-What's said is said._

_-but…I didn't mean it!_

_-oh, you didn't?_

So far, she had managed to conveniently forget the power she had thought her words to have.

He _WASN'T_ real. Right?

_Right_?


	9. Chapter 9

9

"Sarah, come _on_ already! Jenny whined, tugging at her. – Adam's waiting for you, and you're missing the dancing!"

Jenny dragged her up by the arm and out of the bathroom.

_He owes me one for this_. She thought. _What do I look like, a beginner babysitter?_

The last thing Sarah wanted right now was to be dragged anywhere. Or touched, for that matter. Never-the-less, she stumbled out, too full of her own thoughts to protest. She silently wondered why Jenny and Adam weren't dance partners. They seemed like a perfect fit to her. She thought of just asking Jenny straight out, but decided it would be better to keep her thoughts to herself.

Preferably all of them, or they'd call the psych ward on her.

Come to think of it, maybe she shouldn't compete. Or dance. Ever again.

Her thoughts ran rampant through her mind, refusing to be brought back under control, and she felt shivers start their racing at the thought that her words and wishes could have such an immediate effect on reality.

_Was it real? _She wondered again, for God-knows how many times now.

"There you are, kid! Where did you run off to? We've missed two foxtrots and a tango already! And we need to train for the comp!"

Adam grabbed her hand and pulled her into the swing. Finding it easier to think while her body was preoccupied with movement and her hearing with music, Sarah turned to him.

"I haven't decided yet, Adam – I don't know if I want to do this whole comp thing," she told him earnestly.

"Nonsense – it'll be great! We'll make a good team, and we'll be practicing together often, so you have nothing to worry about!

Sarah sighed. _Right_. _Between practicing with this insistent partner and hearing Jareth's voice in my head – or did I actually hear it?_… _Yeah__, nothing to worry about at all_…

_Nothing tra-la-la._

The evening sped by quickly, quicker than she had hoped. At the end of it, Sarah, tired form all the dancing, most of it with Adam, was followed out by the latter.

At least, that's what she thought. Adam thought he was escorting her.

"You know," he said, grabbing her hands and pulling her around, in his usual manner of roughhousing, "you need to work on the dip. It's a key element in tango, and its also good for your dancing. "

Sarah, wrinkled her nose, wrestling him off of her. When he was just playing with her, he reminded her of a surrogate Ludo – albeit, stronger, faster and more rough. But something still remained.

"I hate the dip" she told him. "And the way you dip me, it really hurts! You force me back."

"It only hurts because you resist," came his voice, swiftly loosing its Ludo-esque quality.

He leaned over her in the empty hall, pinning her arms to the wall, still keeping the appearance of play.

"If you stop resisting, it won't hurt."

Not only did Sarah not stop resisting, she struggled more, aware that her position wasn't a very good one in relation to his.

Not from were she was standing, anyway.

"How can I stop resisting if you keep forcing me?" she asked, green eyes widening.

"Just don't. Trust me." Adam leaned in closer, still keeping a tight grip on her hands.

_Oh no you don't!_ She thought, still caught by surprise by how fast he moved in pursuit of her. _No warning? No overtures? She needed veiled threats, dammit!_

She twisted her body sideways, managing to get herself out of the fly-pinned-to-the-wall situation. Too strong for her, Adam continued in play mode and now succeeded in pinning her against him with a move reminiscent of the honey-hug in swing. Well, maybe a tad more violent.

At least she was facing away from him, thought Sarah, fighting the panic at finding herself trapped against him.

She kicked back softly, aiming her dance shoe heel at his shins. _A warning. She'll aim differently next time._

Adam got the message and let her go.

"Just playing around, kid" he tussled her hair, laughing. "See ya tomorrow!"

"Uh... yeah, bye."

Sarah was still in battle mode. She did _not_ like this "playing around". If that's all that it was. Which she very much doubted.

Yeah, maybe it was fun, before it got rough, but that's where she drew The Line.

At least, she hoped she was drawing The Line. A line. Any line.

Tossing her hair, she brushed herself off and stalked home, unsure if she had just triumphed or made a fool of herself.

Jareth took a deep breath to steady himself.

And then another one, for good measure.

It took iron self control to avoid getting involved in this first encounter. He was sure there would be others, more serious ones, too. The boy was just feeling out his ground this time. Now he'd know to be harder on her.

Jareth was certain, that he would also find out that she bites, scratches and slaps.

Wouldn't that be delightful.

_You triumphed, Love, you did. Just don't get over-confident again…_

He'd have to watch these practices much more closely now. She'd need him before the end.

Her reaction upon hearing his voice was certainly interesting to watch... the Goblin King smirked, remembering.

That was another thing she'd learn to get used to before the end.

Now, as to that Jake fellow…

_Time for a little visit to the mortal world._

Changing into an owl, he left his castle

Such fun.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you for the reviews!

I'm sorry for the short chapters, i truly am, but if i don't break it up into short chapters, i just go on about details and forget all the action. So, i'll brave the displeasure at the length of the chapters, and hope the content makes up for it!

Enjoy!

Tari

10

Jake had been reading late into the night, unable to sleep. Watching Adam haul Sarah around the dance floor was worse than a nightmare, and now insomnia had hit for good. In fact, he had the odd feeling that he was being watched. And it was steadily increasing as the night drew on.

Soon, he was jumping at every little noise.

Wishing his roommate were home for once instead of out getting wasted somewhere, Jake got up to fix himself some tea.

He turned sharply at the sound outside his window. Was he imagining things, or did a shadow just swoop past there?

Shaking his head, he pulled the teabag out and plopped it in again, hoping that the sound would chase away any unnecessary sounds, real or imaginary.

Not that there were any…right? Owls had never frightened him before.

"Get her out of your mind!" he told himself again.

But he just couldn't shake the feeling that Sarah wasn't like everyone else. That she did not belong among ordinary mortals. And that she would not be here for much longer, either.

Outside his window, Jareth smirked. This boy was onto something here.

_Oh, getting her out of one's mind isn't easy…and no, she won't be here for much longer…_

Soon, she would be in the Underground.

If all goes well, of course.

_Which it will._

Jake jumped once more, hearing a knock. He thought it came from the front door, but for some odd reason he looked towards the window instead.

There was nothing there.

"It must be Sam," he muttered half-audibly, hoping that it actually was. "Back from another party, probably drunk off his ass again…"

He hesitated… the knocking sounded again, a bit louder this time. Sam had his own key – Jake suddenly remembered. Was he so wasted that he lost it?

Jake sat down on the floor, waiting. If it was Sam, he'd whine. He'd start begging Jake to let him in. That, or he'd find his key and open the door.

Jareth grimaced.

The little fool was trying to be smart, was he…

Well, the Goblin King would certainly not stoop to impersonating drunk college boys, nor to forcing locks.

He pulled a crystal from out of…thin air, apparently, and toyed with it, thinking.

_I've brought you…a gift_…

Something light came whizzing out from under the door, sliding to a stop right in front of the cross-legged Jake.

He picked up the folded piece of paper.

The few lines inside made him shake his already aching head even harder.

"Boy –

If you do not open this door, I shall have to walk through it.

Why deny Magic entrance when it is knocking at your door?"

He glanced at the signature

" – G.K."

More than a little confused, Jake re-read the letter.

Another loud knock sounded, and this time, he felt that it would be the last.

Come what may, he wasn't opening. If this G.K. was magical, then let him prove it. Walk through the door indeed!

"Well then… I warned you" sighed Jareth.

He didn't like pulling stunts like this for mere effect, but if he had to, he had to.

Actually he rather did enjoy it.

Quite suddenly, a cloak-enfolded figure with feathery blond hair entered Jake's apartment.

Open-mouthed, Jake leaned forward, expecting a masquerade dress to go with the black leather boots, but was quite mistaken.

Before him stood a man.

"G.K.?" he asked, from lack of anything else intelligent to say.


	11. Chapter 11

11

"Aren't we bright this evening." – supplemented the latter.

Jake still stood there, trying to take in the whole effect. The man, clad in clinging dark-grey breeches, black leather boots, a rather revealing poets shirt that appeared to fall open all the way to his belt, and a heavy-looking cloak did not seem at all concerned that his attire was rather…unusual.

He had the look of someone very much at home in his clothes - so much so, that they become inseparable form his visage. His face was pale, all sharp lines. His blond, nearly platinum hair followed the sharp line motif, with the jagged cut that swooped its way down onto his shoulders. It reminded Jake of feathers. A crescent moon pendant with an odd design glinted from his pale, open chest.

For some unholy reason, Jake felt attraction for this…being.

The whole dark fairy stuff he had been reading about lately supplemented the necessary word: Fae. This was a Fae.

Jareth glanced around the room.

Tapping his riding crop on his boot, he made a few elegant, cat-like steps across the small apartment, and seated himself gingerly on the highest stool he saw.

"Uh…would you like to sit down?" Jake offered, a bit too late. He had been fascinated by the man's movements – so feline, so latin-dancer-esque.

"Thank you."

The man's… Fae's voice sent unwelcome shivers down Jake's spine. It disturbed him that he was so affected.

He noticed that his visitor had the manners of royalty, and did not even attempt to conceal it. If all of this was real, he could well be talking to a Fae prince!

It amused Jareth to keep this unpleasant silence and read the boy's thoughts, but he knew he did not have much time to waste.

Jake waited for his visitor to speak again, staring up at him. There was something odd about his eyes.

"I'm paying you this visit," Jareth began abruptly "in hope that you can help me."

Uncharacteristic for him, yes, but it was good tactics.

"You, of many, know a lot about my people and their ways. You also know mortals, and _their_ ways. Thus, you can serve as a connecting thread for me."

Jake sat up, excited by such an opportunity.

"Three years ago," The Goblin King continued, "my future queen was… kidnapped. When it happened, she was given a potion to make her forget me, forget our love, forget her people."

It was a simple little fable, true, but the boy seemed to be eating it up. Jareth smirked inwardly. It was somewhat true…it _did_ all happen three years ago. And she _was_ his future queen.

Jake was a little over-excited. Maybe it was his nerves, or maybe the unusual effect that this G.K. was having on him, but he was sitting on the edge of his chair, drinking in every word. It wasn't so much the actual story that affected him as the manner in which it was told. Or the one telling it. Or the whole concept of the fairytale coming alive in his shabby living room.

"In the three years she was gone, I looked for her everywhere, in all the worlds accessible to me. Now, word has come that she is among humans, in your world, and in you particular part of it. Her age would be equivalent to 18 years, and I believe she attends this university."

Immediately, Jake thought of Sarah. Who else could it be but her? The mysteriously otherworldly, fairy-like girl who looked like she didn't belong in this world… now, he could help her return to her people, to her position as Queen, to her… oh.

_She would be his Queen… _for a moment of confused silence, Jake didn't know if he felt jealous of his visitor or of Sarah. It once again disturbed him.

Running a hand across his forehead, he looked again at the Fae King before him.

"So you need me to…?"

"Find her. Identify her. Point me in the right direction. I know Fae, but not Mortal – I might be mistaken, and then the situation would get ever so much worse. I don't want to risk loosing her in this world."

"What would happen?"

Jareth sighed, fighting to keep his temper in check. The boy was testing his nerves, asking him to make up much more than he had intended to… _Let's see, - _he mused to himself, - _what happens to Sarah if he doesn't find her in time and take her back with him…_

"If she unites with a mortal, she will be… lost to me and to her world. She would turn mortal as well and …would die within… 7 weeks."

There, that should do it. _Two birds with one stone… _Now, did his audience buy this one?

Jake sat there, staring at him with widened eyes.

And were those dilated pupils he was seeing?_ My my_. Jareth leaned down to him, face inches away.

"I need to find her. Before anything… happens. Can you help me?"

Just now, Jake realized that his eyes were different colors. One blue, one brown.

Hauntingly piercing they were too.

Snapping out of his trance-like muteness, Jake struggled to speak, as thoughts of Adam and Sarah, and the bet and the dancing spun around in his head.

"YES." He finally managed to say it. "There's this girl…"


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you to all who've taken the time to review! Love you lots!

Solea - i am grievously in error, i know - but if you only how many times i wanted to put "loose" and didn't, you'd give me some credit! LOL. No, i shall proofread more closely!

enjoy,

LadyTari

12

Jareth listened with grave face and concealed amusement as Jake recounted all of his feelings and ideas concerning Sarah.

It pleased him to hear this mortal praise her like the Queen she was… beautiful, otherworldly, magical, beautiful, royal, beautiful, Fae, beautiful…oh, and he'd mentioned she was beautiful a couple of times, too.

The boy was quite taken with her, then. Who could blame him. If he would be cooperative, Jareth might even let him catch a glimpse of the Underground.

Maybe.

"It sounds like her." He replied to all of Jake's enthusiastic descriptions. "Does she seem to remember anything…Fae?"

"I've only danced with her once…" Jake sighed, remembering it. "And it felt like I was dancing with a moonbeam. She wasn't…there. She was elsewhere. I didn't dare talk to her. "

"What did you dance?"

Jareth knew very well that it had been the waltz, and he had watched Sarah get carried away in the music, in the sad melody. She had been taken in completely… and it was indeed beautiful to see.

"The waltz."

"I see..."

"So, what are we… I mean you, going to do?"

"I'm going to need to see her dance the waltz. If this girl is indeed the one I'm looking for, then getting carried away completely will allow her true, Fae, nature to break through her human visage. Then I will know."

"And then?"

The boy was getting to nosy.

"Then, I will know what needs to be done and will do it." Jareth stated in a much colder, clearly you-are-not-welcome-to-question-my-actions sort of voice.

Jake shut up.

Inexperienced as he was with Fae royalty, he knew enough about royal tempers to stop making any sort of sound whatsoever.

"When do you dance?"

"Mondays and Wednesdays in class, Saturday evenings in the studio." Jake was keeping it short and sweet now.

"Then this Saturday night, I want you to dance the waltz with her."

"You want me to buy you a ticket? They're 10 bucks, but I can get a discount on 'em! Oh, and there's a dumb dress code that won't let you dance in jeans…"

Jake's enthusiastic tirade died off under the Goblin King's wrathful gaze.

_True, he did not look like the type to dance in jeans,_ Jake noted, a little late.

Rising from the stool which had served as a makeshift throne, he flung his cloak back, straightening it.

Jake caught sight of a crystal in elegant gloved hands.

Looking at him sharply, Jareth repeated, enunciating every syllable:

"Saturday night."

And with that he turned on his heels and stalked out, not bothering to open the door, everything about him from cloak to billowing shirt to hair – one continuous fluid motion, unstoppable and fey… wild as the wind…


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_The green one, Sarah – wear the green one!_

It had been nearly an hour, and Sarah still couldn't pick a dress to wear for tonight's dance. Not that it was any occasion, but her usual black slacks and white blouse ensemble just didn't seem dressy enough tonight. For some odd reason, she had a calling to dress up. And when Sarah had these callings, which happened very rarely when she was going out into society, she tried to give them as much room to play as possible.

Now a pile of dresses, most of them never worn, lay in a heap on the bed, as she indulged her vanity.

----

Jareth was sorry he had started this whole dress thing. He did want her to look fancy tonight, but now he wasn't sure it was worth the headache of having to endure her inadequate decision-making skills. He vowed here and then that when she's queen, she'll have a personal wardrobe manager. Overseen by him, of course. And this would not reoccur.

Now, if she could only decide on one and stick with it for more than 5 minutes…

She needed to be distracted.

----

Unfortunately for him, Sarah wasn't anywhere near a decision.

The black one seemed too mournful, the red – to dramatic, the green was alright, but she thought it made her look pale… the white…hmmm…

_NO you don't _- thought Jareth. She was not dancing with anyone but him in a white dress! Nor anywhere but the Underground!

Suddenly Sarah, who had picked up the white dress again, preparing to try it on once more, and already rummaging around for a matching scarf, heard something fall in the bathroom. Clutching the dress, she hurried over to investigate. She thought she heard some noises, too…kind of like baby noises, in fact.

----

Sending in drunken goblins as a distraction wasn't the best plan in the world, of course, but it was all he could do right now. Hopefully they wouldn't make too much mischief.

----

A groan from Sarah confirmed that something was, indeed, amiss.

Washing the remains of her roommate's powder off of her hands, Sarah returned to her room, still carrying the dress.

Trying it on, she noticed the newly appearing water stains.

"Damn. Must've accidentally got some water on there…" Sarah sighed, taking candidate #1 off and throwing it one the bed with the others.

She'd straighten the whole thing up later.

_Uh-huh. ACCIDENTALLY, of course. _

Jareth was pretty pleased with himself. Now there was nothing to try but the…

"Green it is."

Success!

"Now, should I wear my hair up or leave it down…

I really don't know…

Should probably try both and see what works better.

Maybe half-up…"

Picking up her hairbrush and several clips, Sarah donned the green and headed happily for the bathroom.

An hour later, she was still undecided.

----

With a groan that was trying to avoid morphing into a scream, the Goblin King threw his current crystal at the floor.


	14. Chapter 14

So, I apologize for playing time back a bit with this story, but it simply had to be done.

You know, in the Underground, time flows differently - so when I rode out with that troll hunting party,

it had quite slipped my mind that years would elapse in the Above-world!

I will try to refrain from making the same mistake again.

Hopefully, those readers who are still alive, thought surely old and grey by now, will still enjoy my tale!

Lady Tari

Chapter 14

In a strikingly pretty green dress, that made her look a little paler than usual and, in fact, a bit more fae than she did, with hair done half up in a loose knot, half hanging down, Sarah entered the dance studio.

Three breaths were caught and held at her entrance. One was Jake's, who was overwhelmed by her look, her presence, knowing for sure that this is the one his Thursday night visitor spoke of. It had to be her. Her green eyes looked like they could hypnotize anything they wanted. It was something he had read about last night. He had been reading up on faes and their traits, and hypnotic qualities of eyes and voice were among the first listed.

Jareth, concealed in a dark corner, where he planned to remain through the entire evening, was the owner of the second one. He had been watching her all along as she prepared for this evening, but still could not hold back his surprise at how different she looked in the half-light – pale and nearly like his own kind. She was still a lot warmer than they, but the green dress he liked so much was definitely doing the trick. He chuckled at Jake's thoughts. The boy insisted on reading that rubbish every night – half of it wasn't even remotely based on reality. The other half was mostly accurate by accident. But the boy could not put those books down, and it amused Jareth to see him.

The third gasp came form Adam. He immediately accessed his mental catalogue of all the competition dresses he had ever seen and made it a point to compare them to how Sarah looked this evening. Even in that plain little dress, with her hair only a little out of the way, she looked stunning. What then, would a real competitor's gown do? What doors would that open for them? "Many" was the correct answer. Many.

Striding over to Sarah, who was standing alone and feeling a bit uncomfortable from all the stares she was getting, Adam greeted her with his usual "hey, kid" and told her he liked the dress.

The other guys who had been contemplating whether or not to come over and talk to Sarah and ask her to dance moved off instinctively. It was as though she was now off-limits to the commoners – always dancing with the TA. And now, again, he had come over and claimed her as easily as though she was his by right. Jake and Jareth wanted to hurt him with something blunt, but contained themselves.

However, Jake liked Adam's action. The only part about it that he didn't like, was that it wasn't him. He wanted Sarah. He suddenly realized that he didn't just want to help her get away from Adam – he wanted her just as much for himself.

There was a small problem though.

He felt the hairs on his neck prickle at the thought of the Goblin King.

The latter growled softly in his corner, not liking the direction of Jake's thoughts one bit. Apparently, he'd been too soft on the boy._ Let him see the underground indeed!_ The only part he'd be seeing was the Bog. Or maybe he'd set the fairies on him...

Their sharp little teeth could do an extensive amount of damage. Smiling at his own wickedness, Jareth didn't notice that Adam and Sarah were no where to be seen.

When he did notice, it was a shock to realize that there was nothing he could do about it.

With this many people around, conjuring crystals was simply not an option. Panicking now, he began to scan the ballroom.


	15. Chapter 15

Ch. 15

In fact, Adam had dragged his new dance partner out of the studio, and stood next to her in front of his shiny red mustang convertible. The other thing that all the boys in class hated him for.

As was his habit, he played with Sarah, spinning her this way and that in various, pseudo dance moves, keeping her slightly off-balance and off-guard with the constant motion. It was a favored tactic – keep'em spinning, and eventually they'll be powerless to resist and land in your arms.

Sarah had never enjoyed being powerless. In fact, anyone so much as presuming to have power over her, in any way, was abruptly brought back to reality.

She supposed it all started when her dad got remarried... but the whole Labyrinth thing (_No, she would not acknowledge it. For all she knew it was all merely a product of her over-excited imagination) _had definitely made her discover her character.

In high school she had signed up for cross-country, only to discover that it irked her to no end when the coach thought he could force her to keep running past the point of exhaustion. She supposed he meant to train her, but the mere thought that someone could just yell at her to keep running when she didn't want to was _infuriating_. By that time, she'd already learned that screaming "Its not fair!" in his face and crying about it would not make things better, so when the coach continued to push her, she discovered what it meant to be a rebellious teenager. If Jareth thought she was stubborn in the Labyrinth... In high school, Sarah learned the fine art of being obstinate.

Cross country was just the tip of the iceberg, but it was telltale. She would flat out refuse to run, if she got tired. She would do it to Coach Kuredka's face. She would look at him, as he ran beside her, trying to pace her: look him straight in the eye and break to a walk. If he yelled at her any more, she'd stop entirely. It gave her inexplicable satisfaction not to yield, no matter what.

If there was a meet scheduled, she'd delay getting her physical, so she wasn't qualified to run. She'd delay it anyway, because she didn't like being touched and prodded, but she'd be sure to make it look like an ill-concealed accident. She'd tell the coach she couldn't run for "feminine reasons" at least 3 times a month. Of course, he never called her out on it. The same sentiment applied to skipping school, if she felt like it - she would simply take off in broad daylight, drive to the nearest Starbucks and enjoy a good book. She couldn't even say how she developed such a taste for completely disregarding the rules.

So, needless to say, she was enjoying not giving into Adam's game, as much as she was enjoying seeing through it. The attention was flattering as well. What she wasn't enjoying, however, was that she had to work harder to stave him off now.

"Adam, cut it out!" Sarah said, breathless from all the pulling and pushing. Adam had pinned her to his car, in pretend dance position. _At least it wasn't in Tango position..._

"You're being really annoying!" she complained, twisting to get out. "I thought you wanted me to go to the dance to practice!"

"We are practicing, Kid," he retorted, forcing her into another dip and holding her there just to make her squirm. "Its boring to dance with the others all the time. Besides, its too hot in there."

Sarah glared at him and struggled out. She could feel that he let her go this time.

"Well I want to go back in, we're missing all the music," she snapped, annoyed at having lost control. "And I think the extra lesson is starting anyway."

With that, she turned around and stalked back into the studio, relief washing over her when she made her way through a group of giggling girls once again. It made her question her sanity a little.

Adam shuffled his way in after her, and saw her trying to look inconspicuous amongst the other girls. He looked her over again, pleased with her flushed cheeks and breathlessness. She wasn't one of the hot girls, of course, but she was definitely attractive. Now, Jenny – that one was fiiiiine. Sarah's body left much to be desired by comparison, but he'd enjoy playing with her anyway. She was much more _interesting _than the others. She wasn't easy. She refused to giggle and blush and squeal. This one was a challenge, and he liked a challenge now and again.

Her naivete was slightly problematic for Adam. Despite his coarse nature and complete callousness, he couldn't pretend that he didn't feel slightly funny about taking advantage of someone so naïve. The girl obviously didn't know what it was that he intended. Usually, they had a good idea by now.

Suddenly, he felt himself shiver. He took his eyes off of Sarah and looked around the room. Everyone was finishing up their swing, with the old teacher counting the beats and yelling at the guys to get their hands WHERE IT CURVES IN, NOT WHERE IT CURVES OUT!

He smirked at the images running through his mind at those words... and nearly flew straight into the closest wall, as someone pushed past him roughly, knocking him to the floor. He jumped up and balled his hands into fists, ready to teach that sonofabitch to mind their manners, but the tall, sinewy man clad in dancer slacks and a white button-down shirt was already half-way across the floor. Adam's eyes narrowed, as he watched the man disappear through a curtain on the other side of the slightly darkened studio.


	16. Chapter 16

Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate all of your support!

Enjoy!

~Tari

Ch.16

When he had realized that in all his evil plotting, he had lost sight of his Precious Thing, Jareth came the closest to panic he had been in a while.

He couldn't bloody well conjure crystals or transport himself in a cloud of glitter in the middle of a crowded dance studio, now could he! Hell, he couldn't even _walk_ across the floor without causing a commotion in his kingly attire... But he had to find his Sarah!

Where could that creep have taken her? He knew his dark-haired darling wouldn't take to anything Adam might force her into quietly, but he wanted to protect her at all times! How was he supposed to do that when he was stuck in this dark corner?

Panicking, he scanned the emotions of the kids around him, hoping one of them could have seen something. But there were so many chaotic emotional roller coasters on and off the floor, that Jareth nearly despaired. Vanity, pride, jealousy, lust, betrayal – it was like a microcosm of humanity's every emotional experience unfolding before his senses. The whole thing was too much to sort through.

Jareth concentrated on the other TAs. What were they feeling? Boredom, mostly. They felt like they were babysitting. Now that feeling he was familiar with. He wouldn't be surprised if they wished the whole lot away. _Thank goodness the Labyrinth wish-away age limit is set to 7._

He saw several of the girl TAs exploring what looked like a thin magazine. From what he could see, it contained dance clothing. Hmmm...

What if he were to try a bit of a disguise?

Concentrating, he pulled his fraying sanity together, trying to not let the thought that he _still _had no idea where Sarah was or what was happening to her get the best of him. Carefully, he concentrated his will and directed it, like a ray, towards Jake.

Maybe if the boy proved himself useful, he would _think_ about not feeding him to the fairies...

Jake felt himself hyperventilate. He was pretty sure the Goblin King was very close. He felt the same strange something that he spent half of last night denying feeling. He turned to look behind him, beads of nervous sweat collecting on his forehead.

And jumped, when he spied his late night visitor standing in the corner of the dance studio, partially concealed by one of the columns. Skin-tight breeches, glitter and all. Knowing that there was no choice in the matter, he made his way softly over the the dark corner, sweating profusely.

"Your... umm.. Majesty!" he said, wincing when he heard his voice go an octave higher than normal. "You're here! Would you like me to get you a glass of ..umm... Doctor Pepper? Or we have some chips and salsa..." he finished lamely, realizing how absolutely inadequate it all was, in the end.

"No, Blake..." Jareth purred, leaning forward just a little bit, until the boy nearly stopped breathing. _Dear, what was it with mortals and the way their senses reacted?_ He wondered again, seeing the reaction. He then proceeded to wonder if Sarah would react the same way to his nearness – if her breath would also come in short, shallow little gulps, if her perfect, creamy skin would flush as her beautiful green eyes grew darker... _As if by magic._

He mentally shook himself. First things first.

"... I need you to get me that magazine over there." He indicated the two girls on the opposite side of the room. "I would like to look a little more... ordinary. I'm afraid I may start drawing more attention to my person than is necessary at the moment."

Jake blinked, trying to take in the meaning of what that cruel mouth had just uttered. He didn't even notice that Jareth had gotten his name wrong. In fact, if Jareth hadn't stopped talking, Jake would have happily continued staring at him wthout even attempting to comprehend.

A part of him was very much disturbed by this realization. But it was now in the minority.

"Uhhh... sure.." he said, brilliantly. "It's actually this magazine, we have tons of them in the studio," he mumbled, trying to unscramble his mind and that havoc that this unearthly being had wreaked there. Finally, he handed Jareth a magazine from one of the unoccupied chairs nearby.

"You should hurry... your Majesty," he added, wilting under Jareth's gaze. "Its just that there will be an extra lesson by a guest teacher soon, in a couple of dances."

"Do tell," Jareth asked silkily, a plan already spinning through his labyrinthine mind. "And who is this dear guest?"

"Well.." Jake gulped, suddenly feeling his knees turn to jello, "he's actually a trainer from one of the bigger studios in the city. Our teacher invites him and other trainers too so that the kids can get a taste of what really good dancing is like, get inspired. They do shows and lessons. Sometimes, the better kids and the TAs will take private lessons with them later..."

"I see.." The Goblin Kong murmured. "How very interesting."

Jake nearly glowed with pride at having been "interesting".

"And, would you happen to know where this "guest trainer" happens to be right now? If its nearly time for the lesson..."

"Yeah! Of course!" the boy's enthusiasm was really beginning to get a little tiresome. "He's changing in the back room, its right behind that curtain, down the hall and to the left! Do you want me to get him for you?"

Jareth made a mental note never to get a puppy. The boy looked like he would drool any minute, and if he'd had a tail, it would probably be knocking dancers off the floor with its wagging.

"No, thank you, Blake" he breathed, leaning in as close as he could without blowing his cover and exposing himself to the stray light of the disco ball's many facets, "You've been exceedingly helpful... I must leave you now. Remember about the waltz."

Jake went rigid. The scent that hit him when the Goblin King leaned in and whispered to him, set of waves of pleasure. If he hadn't bitten his lip, he would have moaned from the dizzying aroma. And there was desire. There was definitely desire. Crap! He'd never thought it would come to this!

Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, Jareth stepped stealthily behind the curtain and headed for the changing room, putting his newly-concocted plan into action.


	17. Chapter 17

Ch.17

By the time that the swing had come to an end, Sarah had managed to calm down, regain her composure and wedge herself firmly in the middle of a bunch of girls. They were all sitting down in chairs around the perimeter of the studio, waiting to be asked to dance and chatting excitedly.

She knew there was to be no real companionship there for her, but she new as well, that she now stood out too much to sit in solitude – at least if she wanted to avoid being asked. Which, being Sarah, she did.

There was, after all, safety in numbers.

Most of the boys were generally much shyer than Adam, and picked off the girls at the edges of the group, or those sitting in twos and threes, rather than risking going straight to the center of the large group and being surrounded.

Only the TAs, coerced into their Hippocratic Oath to dance with everyone, ever ventured to the center of the group, or "the Herd", as Sarah preferred to think of it.

But her fears were allayed as the lights came back on and the music was muted. Not that it was all that great to have the lights on, after everyone was used the semi-darkness. Makeup looked almost clownish, and the sweat-stains were beginning to show. Everything looked much more magical in the dark. One could almost believe that the dance was a bit surreal, a bit more romantic and powerful...

But who was she kidding, really? Valentine Evenings had no place here. _ Or anywhere, for that matter, _she told herself firmly. And the world falling down wasn't such a great experience, when it came to it. Lots of glass and glitter, and when you got down to it, a great big stinking pile of junk. And a rotten peach to top it all off.

Besides, the only good dancer she knew was Adam, and he was definitely no fairy-tale prince. She almost snorted at the thought. _Talk about kissing a frog!_

She giggled to herself quietly, as the other girls paused in their gossiping and oggling to stare at her. It's not that they meant to be cruel – well, a select few did, - but they felt that she was aloof, and they didn't appreciate the _different. _She didn't care about her status – that, too, was inexcusable. She was taken up by Adam. That made her an object of jealousy to some and got her the label of "slut" or , at best, "future slut" by others. She was exquisitely beautiful, but not conventionally so. That made most of them feel very insecure.

Soon, however, the girls' attention was completely occupied by a lithe figure in the middle of the studio. His body was deceptively lean, but it emanated a poise and grace that could only come from a strength and power that went beyond his looks. Not that the girls could even really sense this. What they felt was the sensuality of the man before them. What they saw was a perfect specimen of a dancer. Their interest was definitely peaked. As the man turned, slowly looking at the class before him, they saw that he was dressed just like the model from the dance clothing magazine. The same ballroom pants, form-clinging along the hips and thighs and loose the rest of the way down, the same designer white button-down shirt, with large cuffs and standing collar - and a few careless rhinestones here and there.

"Listen up, everyone!" the old teacher said gruffly. "Eric was scheduled as our guest teacher today, but he couldn't make it. That's the bad news. The good news is, he sent his friend to take over for him. So, everyone better behave and pay attention! You'd better be respectful, or I'll kick your ass!"

The class smiled at the haphazard introduction. The old teacher always said stuff like that, which actually just made him that much more powerless and endearing.

"Hello, Class." the guest teacher-substitute said.

Sarah's head whipped around at the sound of that voice, and her heart jumped to her throat.


	18. Chapter 18

Ch. 18

_No. It couldn't be. - s_he thought, flatly denying her memory, squelching even the smallest fluttering of feeling. _No, no, no and no. _She couldn't think of him right now - she was already teetering on the edge after she thought she heard him answer her question the other day. If she lost control now, she might go right over that edge. She was losing it. As in, completely and totally. She needed to stop this. _Cut it out! - _she told herself – _Come on, Sarah, pull yourself together. We've been through worse, we've gotten through worse._

_Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered..._

But somehow, it didn't get easier to breathe. The man in front of the class looked nothing like the Goblin King – much darker-skinned than her dream-turned-nightmare-turned- something she didn't dare name. He had black, curly hair, slicked into a ponytail at the neck, his eyes were not mismatched. They were both a dark brown, almost black in this half-light. A different person altogether. _Breathe, _she told herself. Almost an order. But her body was revolting, caught up in a whirlwind of sensations._ It doesn't even look like him!_

But there was something about him that was just too familiar. Impossible to ignore. Sarah's old instincts told her to run, to get out. But there was another set of instincts now, instincts she really didn't trust. And they whispered different things.

_It feels like bells ringing through your body in response to his voice,_ they told her. _Do you feel it pulsating through you? _they asked,_ Like music.. like a quickening pace...?_

And she did.

_You are tuned to him, already in synch with him, _they whispered. T_here's no fighting it, _they assured, almost purring.

But the last assertion was too much. The old Sarah shook her head, fighting, no longer giving in. She bundled these new, traitorous thoughts together with her unwanted thoughts of Jareth, and decided she would ignore them both. Fantasies _weren't_ real. They simply _couldn't_ be. No matter how strong their siren song. She promptly threw them into an oubliette.

_To forget about._

Then she decided that that was too generous of her, and mentally banished them to the Bog, feeling a fleeting and inexplicable satisfaction, which unsettled her even more.

She couldn't believe she was starting to think in these categories!

Jareth watched as Sarah's face betrayed the emotions that ripped their way through her in those short few seconds. He saw the recognition, and nearly dropped his disguise in excitement. He saw her unable to put up her internal walls, overwhelmed by new sensations that hadn't been there before, that had lain dormant for years. The sensations which he had now awakened. But, as anything that tried to gain control over his Sarah, whether internal or external in origin, it was sure to alarm her. He saw her defenses triggered, saw the protective walls slammed back into place.

He hadn't expected an immediate victory, so he did not let himself give way to disappointment. She was his Sarah, his Labyrinth runner, his conqueror. Of course she would not surrender. He was hoping to win the war, however many lost battles it took in the process.

But she was definitely shaken, there was absolutely no doubt about that. And now, bit by bit, her mind would give way to him. She had felt his call, and had, despite herself, reacted. For now, that was more than enough.

As she steeled herself against him, Jareth remembered his charade, realizing with a start that he was, in fact, standing in front of an expectant class. The female majority of which were already overreacting to his presence.

He had picked his disguise off-handedly, trying to choose the model in the catalogue who didn't have any of his features. Not that his features were all that common, he noted smugly. He wanted the safety of anonymity during their first meeting. He was too used to observing without being observed, and he preferred to keep the ball in his court.

"Hello, class," he said again, this time talking to all of them, rather than just Sarah. "My name is Terrence."

"Eric has asked me to fill in for him today..." Jareth trailed off, smiling at his little fib. _Well, he would've asked me to fill in, if he wasn't gagged in the back of his own truck right now... _Jareth made a mental note to tamper with the man's time later. Turning it back a few hours wouldn't hurt anyone.

"So here I am." He looked around, smiling. The kids in front of him weren't all that different from a throne-room-full of goblins. All they really wanted was to be impressed. Already, they thought they knew what he was, and that just made it easy as pie.. or was that cake?

All he had to do, was to fit the role they cast him in – that of a handsome dance teacher. Although - some of the girls present had better developed imaginations, Jareth noted, giving them credit, as he felt their fantasies swirl around his form. Maybe slightly _too_ well-developed for their years. His disguise wouldn't last very long, if they kept imagining it off! He'd better get on with the show. In his pre-Sarah days, he might have taken them up on their challenge... But he had other tasks at hand.

He glanced at Sarah again, trying to settle on a strategy. He wanted to experiment with the whole lets-unhinge-Sarah's-pentup-feelings-and-grown-up-emotions line of action. It seemed to yield definitive results.

He knew that she was mesmerized by the waltz, and that it would open her to any outside influence easily... but it was slightly boring – coming all this way, coming up with the perfect disguise, just to waltz with her. He could, of course... But there wasn't danger there, there was nothing that would remind her of _him_. Maybe of tearing herself away at the masked ball, of the last words and the last ringing of his thirteen-hour clock.. It had potential, he admitted grudgingly.

What he really wanted to dance was a Tango. But that, he felt, might not go down so well. He'd have to make sure not to get carried away, and he didn't know if he could do that. With his darling so close, he might not be able to hold onto to his disguise, and he wasn't sure he had her mind completely on his side yet. He couldn't risk that.

He scanned the crowd. They expected something "cool". He smirked. Oh, he could do "cool". In fact, anything he showed them today would blow their tiny mortal minds. But it didn't bring him closer to a decision. He suddenly found himself sympathizing with Sarah's dress-choosing issues that had annoyed the crap out of him earlier that day.

"Before we get started," he said, stalling, "could anyone tell me what you work on with Eric last time?"

A few hands shot up - all ladies, of course.


	19. Chapter 19

Ch. 19

"Yes," he said, pointing to a blonde in the front row. She was one of the newer Tas, he remembered.

"We did waltz and foxtrot with Eric," she said in a voice that betrayed her boredom with all three. "But can we do a Latin dance today? A Rhumba or a ChaCha or something with some hip action? Pretty please?" He could hear the open flirtation in the "please", as she looked at him with pouting eyes. In the back, he heard Sarah sigh. She had obviously heard it too. She sounded slightly disgusted... or could that possibly be jealousy he was hearing?

Suddenly, a new thought occurred to Jareth. He focused his gaze on the blonde girl in front of him, who was mentally undressing him again. He angled his body to her, without looking away. With a smirk, he noticed her breath catch in her throat, when she realized that he was looking directly at her, not breaking the eye-contact.

As the girl's heart fluttered and her breath quickened, bringing a blush to her cheeks, Jareth noticed smugly that it had not escaped Sarah's attention. She stood, leaning against the wall, her hands crossed in front of her chest, pretending to be bored with the scene. But he could tell that she was watching.

"Well, I suppose I could teach a Rhumba..." Jareth purred, lacing his words with as much sensuality as he could without dropping into obscenity. The rest of the class looked on, interested. Even the boys couldn't help themselves.

"And you will help me." Jareth told the girl, smiling wickedly. It was not a question, and there was no escape. "What is your name?"

"Uh... Jenny.." the girl was obviously uncomfortable now, he saw. The mental undressing had definitely ceased.

Another swift glance at Sarah revealed more discomfort. Her eyes had narrowed and her posture had become stiff. She watched the exchange closely.

"Now, before we begin, I would like to show you what a Rhumba should look like." Jareth said. "As you may have already heard, the Rhumba is 'a vertical expression of a horizontal desire, legalized by music...' ".

He paused, letting the thought sink in and watching the different reactions.

Sarah looked puzzled for a second, then reddened beautifully, realizing what the words had implied. Adam grinned. Jareth was sure he had already known this quote. And Jenny, the curvy blonde girl who was so desirous of him a minute ago, pulled nervously on her dress, trying to make the overly-short skirt and belly-baring tank top cover as much of her as possible. It was an exercise in futility. He gave her another one of his wicked half-smiles, making her freeze and mid-gesture.

"Can anyone tell me," he asked after a minute. "What the most important piece of information is in this quote?"

The class looked down in unison, as awkward silence shrouded the room.

"Well, duh!" Adam said, sounding bored. "The horizontal desire, of course! I mean, have you seen the pros do Rhumba? It's like watching them do it on the dance floor!"

"Wrong."

Jareth wanted to dunk the miserable excuse for a male into the bog and hang him by his...

But he needed his self control, as much fun as it would be to cater to his whims.

"Wrong, young man. The most important, most vital part of both the quote and the dance is _the music_." he said.

Adam looked disappointed, but not upset or chagrined – Jareth noticed, feeling his anger rising again.

"It is the music" he continued, shoving it down again, "that _allows_ us to express our desires," he paused to throw Jenny another look, while actually watching Sarah. "Its the music that gives us a rhythm, that gives the dance its life, that lets the leader enchant the follower, bending her to his will while, at the same time, letting her express herself through the dance. It is through music that we weave our Magic."

Another look stolen at Sarah showed him that she was not really as indifferent as she pretended to be. His words preyed on her thoughts, awakening her emotions. He saw her fight them, trying to keep herself free of their web, but he also saw that she was drawn to the words, to the meaning, to him. At the word "Magic", he could swear he saw her give a start, trying to stifle a gasp. She looked up at him then, and he met her glance for a second, before looking away.

"And now, please give us some space," Jareth commanded.

Jenny looked like she was thinking about bolting.

"Oh, and could someone please shut the door?" he said offhandedly. "There's a bit of a draft."

Jenny looked down, caught.

He drew a small memory stick from his pocket and looked around again, this time searching for Jake. He found him on the right side of the room, standing in a very similar posture to Sarah's – eye's narrowed, teeth clenched, body stiff. His heart was also racing, Jareth heard, surprised. _What was with that mortal? _he wondered, mentally shaking his head. He needed the boy functional enough to run the music.

He motioned Jake over and told him something quietly, handing him the memory stick, after which the latter gave a quivering sigh and disappeared into the small closet that served as the music room. Jareth sincerely hoped he wouldn't collapse right there and then – he needed the timing to be perfect.

"First, _Jenny_ and I will demonstrate for you..." he stressed the name, delighting in both the shiver than ran through the Blonde's body, and at Sarah's reaction to the scene.

He took three sinuous steps forward, allowing his hips to move and pause one by one by one, in synch with his shoulders – like a jaguar's slinky yet graceful movements. Watching Sarah in his peripheral vision, he made a grand show of concentrating only on the Blonde.


	20. Chapter 20

Ch. 20

Jenny instinctively took three steps backwards, mirroring him. It came without thinking, without her noticing. The movement was a natural reaction to the carnivorous motion of the man stalking her.

Sarah watched "Terrence" as he moved, realizing that she had (_how many times now?) _forgotten to breathe. His movement, like his voice, brought back memories and emotions that she would much rather have suppressed.

His head was raised proudly, but tilted slightly downwards, his eyes locked on the girl in front of him. He held his chest up, abdominal muscles pulled tight under his ribcage, his shoulders flung back, but somehow relaxed at the same time. The white shirt showed little skin, but managed to show every muscle of his tensed torso to perfection. His steps were sure and almost serene – movement for the sake of movement. His hips were mesmerizing and unsettling to watch – they moved one by one - slowly at first, then finishing their motion in a sharp shift as he moved his weight off of one foot and onto the other.

When Jenny moved back, not nearly as gracefully, but somehow still on the same beat as the teacher, Sarah had held her breath again, as though expecting him to pounce at the sight of fleeing prey. It seemed that, if the prey moved with the same slinky, stalky motion, the predator would not strike. But one break in rhythm, and it would be over. A deadly game.

Sarah didn't even realize that the music had already started. It stole in imperceptibly, barely registering somewhere at the edge of her consciousness. The song was as hypnotic as movement of the man before her – it came nearer and nearer and then retreated, moving further away and then creeping back again, always steady and deceptively slow. The heavy, advancing beats emphasized the ones in the four-part rhythm. They were interspersed with the light sound of African tambourines, lulling and seductive, moving and writhing – never still.

She saw Jake peeking out from the music room - W_hat was he so tense about?_, she wondered - and made a mental note to ask him what the song was. She couldn't think, couldn't wonder – she could only watch and listen and feel. The music seemed to seep into her, moving under her skin.

The man who had called himself Terrence had caught up to Jenny now, extending his arm to take her hand. Sarah felt sorry for her, but not sorry enough. Somehow, somewhere inside, she felt she didn't like Jenny right now.

Maybe not Jenny specifically, but the fact that she was the sole focus of this strange man's gaze. That seemed wrong to Sarah. So wrong, in fact, that it made her slightly angry. She felt the strange anger flaring up inside her, almost fiery. She felt that Jenny should not be getting this attention.

_Am I jealous?_ Sarah wondered, staring at the pair in front of the class and trying to cope with the anger that had begun to spread through her. _I can't imagine why... It would be terrifying to be up there right now. In front of everyone, in front of _him_. Locked in his gaze, in his rhythm. Do I really want that? No, I don't. I don't think I do..._

Well, she wasn't a 100% sure of that.

What she _was_ sure of, was that she didn't like this man dancing with Jenny. Not one bit. Or with anyone else for that matter.

In fact, she didn't like him looking at anyone else.

Or thinking of anyone else.

_This is very strange... _she told herself. _Why on earth do I feel so... possessive?_

Meanwhile, Jareth had caught Jenny's right hand in his left and held it, wrapping his right hand around her left shoulder blade. She had shuddered.

_Why? _Sarah caught herself wondering._ It would be thrilling to feel that contact, to be so close to _him_, to have _his_ movement dictate mine..._

_Dumb blonde..._

She tried to shake off the venomous thoughts, but they were not that easy to get rid of, now that they had already taken root. She was slightly horrified at herself.

Jareth took a step forward, and Jenny gave way, taking a step back, eyes down – completely submissive. He moved to the side, slowly turning his hip until the tambourine signaled the hip switch, and he moved swiftly settling his weight onto his leg, and extending the other one forward. Jenny could have been his shadow – she moved with precisely the right timing.

_I wish I were that good of a dancer_, Sarah thought. _I can never get the timing right._

She was sure Jenny wasn't that good when she danced with the others, though. Watching her now, she could have been a professional. Her every movement was perfectly controlled, first smooth – stretching in between the beats – then sharp, settling on the count.

The only thing missing was, of course, the attitude that the pros had. All the latin dancers she had seen always looked like they were the best thing ever to happen to this world – God's gift to men. Or women, depending on the gender.

Jenny certainly acted that way in school, and during normal dance lessons, but now there was nothing of that attitude left in her. She looked like she wasn't really there. Perfect, beautiful, correct – but completely empty behind the eyes.

Her mind-numbingly gorgeous partner, on the other hand, made up for her lack of fire. It was obvious that the spark was coming from him – he nearly glowed with power. He was completely in charge – head of the partnership, life of the dance, king of the ballroom. _King_...

Sarah's thoughts screeched to a halt as images of the crystal ballroom swam before her mind's eye. She couldn't stop herself from remembering... The Goblin King, coming up to her, leading her through the crowd of dancers... making her swirl and glide gracefully along, his body telling her what to do... his gaze zeroing in on her, focused only on her, eyes locked with hers... the intensity of that gaze...

Distracted, she didn't notice Adam slide closer and shuddered as he closed his arms around her waist.


	21. Chapter 21

Ch. 21

"Hey, Kid" - he said huskily, almost whispering. "How are you liking the show?"

Surprised, Sarah struggled quietly, trying to break free of his grasp without attracting unnecessary attention. Adam held her fast, with more tenacity than he had before. She realized that it wasn't her strength that had kept her out of trouble – it was the fact that he had been only playing.

He wasn't playing now.

Sarah's struggles brought a grin to Adam's face. He held her tighter still, pinning her and trying to sway her in time to the music, moving her body against his.

Appalled, Sarah froze in place. For a second, she couldn't even believe that he could be so... so... nasty! She swiftly considered kicking him. At the moment, she was pinned too tight and unbalanced, forced to lean backwards onto him. She needed him to relax his hold just enough to take aim...

"Adam!" she said, exasperated, working hard to keep the edge of fear and disgust out of her voice. "You're distracting me! I was watching Jenny's footwork..."

"Yeah, kid. Right." he laughed a mean laugh. "As if you're not staring at the teacher with goo-goo eyes like the rest of them." There was a taste of bitterness in his voice, and Sarah could well guess the reason for it. Despite herself, she felt smug. But it didn't help her situation.

"Look at them drool over him." he continued, getting more and more angry. "Bet they're wondering what he's like in bed... "

Sarah smirked. She really couldn't help herself now.

"I bet he's amazing," she said, turning to look him in the eye. "I bet he'd blow my mind."

She felt him stiffen. His hold was still too tight, and she continued to goad him.

"What's the matter Adam," she asked innocently, "not getting any?.. attention, I mean?"

She felt his arms loosed their hold in surprise. This was her chance.

"Why you little..." he started to say, but was interrupted by a swiftly placed kick to the shin. She would have loved to aim higher, but there was no space.

He cursed softly as the dance shoe heel connected, and Sarah slipped out of his vice-like grip, moving into the crowd closer to the edge of the dance floor.

She'd never openly challenged him before, and Adam had never imagined she could speak so candidly to anyone, much less to him - he had been caught completely off guard. It was kind of a turn-on, he decided.

_Maybe she's not so innocent after all..._ he thought, as his calculating mind clicked through the possibilities.


	22. Chapter 22

Hello again, dear readers!

Thank you for your reviews - they really keep me motivated and keep me writing! Hope you enjoy the next chapters!

3,

LadyTari

22

Intensely aware of the exchange between Sarah and Adam, Jareth almost went off-count.

He felt himself go white-hot with fury at Adam's obvious come-on. _How dare he do that to her? How dare he touch her that way? How dare he force her to himself!_

Even in the crystal ballroom, when he had held Sarah close, when he had wanted to hold her to him more than anything he had ever wanted in his ageless life, _he had let go_ when he felt her struggle against him.

He could easily have _made_ her stay... He smiled at the thought.

But he hadn't forced her to. She was _not_ to be forced.

He wished he could help her, throw Adam off of her, release her from his unwanted "attention" - but he had to keep his composure now. The boy wouldn't do anything too forward in public, and he had a plan to follow.

Jareth had to keep his body moving to the count, but his attention wavered now, no longer as concentrated on his partner as before. He tried to channel his anger.

The Rhumba got sharper, the motions coming more suddenly, with less preparation than they had before. Jenny kept up only because Jareth's body and hands made her.

If she was too late coming into a step, his body weight would shove her there, ready or no. If she didn't make a turn in time, she felt his hands whip her around, until she was dizzy with the countless sharp head changes. If she lost her balance, the hand beneath her shoulder blade would jolt her back onto her foot, the heat of it and the nearness of this stranger she was dancing with not making it any easier to concentrate. She felt like a marionette; as though, were her partner to stop his movement, she would collapse on the floor in a heap of arms and legs, twisted and bent at wrong angles.

His attention split between his two tasks, Jareth continued to watch Sarah struggle. He saw that she had formulated a plan, but couldn't tell what it was yet.

Mindlessly, he led Jenny into the "sliding doors" step, switching his his hips as he led her first to one side of his arching body, then over to the other, making a show of fixing his gaze on another girl in front of him.

He watched Adam's expression turn bitterly angry, as he looked up at the dance floor. His next words brought a smile curving its way up his face. "... bet they're all wondering what he's like in bed..." the boy had spat ruefully.

_Yes. They were indeed wondering about that, _he acquiesced, pushing Jenny into a "rope-spin" and pulling her around him only to turn her again, sharply, to end up face-to-face.

_In fact, their mind was pretty much made up on the subject. _

And then he just plain stopped, when he heard Sarah's retort. He couldn't believe he had just heard her pretty pouting mouth utter _that_.

It took almost everything he had to not drop his disguise and take her to the Underground right then and there. And the rest of it to stop himself from grinning like a Cheshire cat at her words.

Jenny felt the dictating rhythm of his hips halt mid-step. She managed to settle on her left hip and froze there, feeling suddenly unsure of herself. Without his lead to guide her, she didn't know what else she could do. She didn't know what count she was on, what move they had been doing, or where she even was on the floor, for that matter.

The bubble they had been moving in with slow, deliberate, entrancing steps, had shattered into a thousand water droplets, and she suddenly felt naked in front of the watching class.


	23. Chapter 23

23

Jareth, too, realized that he was standing in front of the class.

His thoughts had been far away. More specifically in the bedchambers of his Castle (Beyond the Goblin City) at the pulsing core of his Labyrinth, engaged in laying out deliciously spine-tingling plans for the near future.

Coming back to reality was a bit of a disappointment. For one thing, the Sarah in his musings was quite differently attired. And her eyes were closed in pleasure, rather than looking at him with open curiosity and a slight mistrust. He looked himself over, just to make sure nothing was amiss.

And, for the first time in a while, he regretted his form-fitting attire. Perhaps slightly looser slacks would have been a better choice.

He saw the imaginations of the other girls around him take off, the images of himself in various different roles taking wing like thousands of tiny airplanes... or, in some cases - nuclear fuel-powered rockets.

_Ah, well, _he thought with a slight shrug. _Can't be helped I suppose..._

With a flourish, he extended and arm to his partner, and threw a swift look at Jake, to make sure he cut the music. Jake scrambled back into the room, a slight delay obvious in his reaction. _Did he move a little too awkwardly just now? - _Jareth wondered, bemused._ Perhaps its just because he's a mortal..._

When the music stopped, it was as though a spell was lifted from the class. They clapped and whistled and moved and shifted from foot to foot – no longer mesmerized and spellbound by the rhythm and the snake-like, stalking movements of the two dancers before them.

"So that was a Rhumba for you." Jareth stated matter-of-factly. He looked around for Sarah and saw that she had moved closer to the edge of the small crowd in front of him.

It was hard to concentrate on anything when he looked at her, her previous words still ringing in his ears. He looked quickly away, trying to stave off getting his thoughts side-tracked again.

"Now, I will show you two or three moves, and you can practice them together," he continued, switching smoothly into the role of a teacher rather than a seductive dancer.

Naturally, he liked this character a lot less. He proceeded to demonstrate several moves, guiding Jenny into showing the girls their part.

Then he let her go, and she slunk gratefully back into the corner, collapsing on the bench. He saw several of her friends shooting her jealous looks, but Jenny didn't look like she enjoyed them one bit.

_Such a pity..._

The rest of the lesson was pretty uneventful. The class had been instructed to break up into pairs, and try out the new moves they learned. The girls had been eager, but had found their own attempts at the Rhumba to be a serious disappointment. For once, Sarah was not an exception.

She had tried to ask Jake to dance with her, but had encounter a frightened, almost fearful protest. He told her that he had to do the music, and seemed to be so set on that, that her invitation to dance fell on deaf ears.

_Thats's weird... what got into him? S_arah wondered. _He looked like he was walking a bit funny, too... _

She quickly found another partner, staying as far away from both the dance teacher, whose pull on her had not lessened, and Adam, as the small room allowed.

Thankfully, Adam seemed to have left her alone for the time being. He had gone over to Jenny, trying to re-established his bruised ego, only to have it sucker-punched again when she told him to "leave her the hell alone". It had been loud enough for the entire class to hear, too – Sarah noticed.

She suppressed a grin.

When Adam continued his antics, trying to pull Jenny onto the dance floor by sheer force – something Jenny had tolerated before, making a grand show of resisting, after which she would giggle and give in - she'd pushed him roughly away and told him to get his paws off of her.

She then proceeded to stalk off to the girls bathroom, leaving him standing there, his ego bleeding out on the ballroom floor.

The rest of the class looked quickly away, occupying themselves with their dancing.

Sarah stole a careful glance at the dance teacher, to see if he had noticed the scene. He looked oddly pleased with something, but she couldn't tell what it was that had made him look so satisfied, and whether it had anything to do with the tragicomic Adam-Jenny exchange. For no reason at all, she thought that it just might.


	24. Chapter 24

Thank you to those of you who have persevered!

I hope you enjoy the new chapter,

Tari

24

Sarah tried to keep out of Adam's way as much as possible, because the bleeding ego made him even more rough with his dance partners. Not many of them left his arms happy, though there were a few giggling mini-skirted Jenny-hating twits so flattered by his attention, that they were utterly oblivious to the fact that he jerked them around and pressed them close just to feel powerful.

By now, Sarah truly felt sorry for Jenny, who had come back from the restroom and sat by herself in a dark corner. The couple of girls who had approached her, overly-solicitous and secretly curious about the "hot new teacher" and what it was like to dance with him, went away disappointed. Jenny refused to talk to them.

She felt _used_. Maybe for the first time ever. She didn't enjoy it. She had given in to Adam's pushing and pulling before, but she had never experienced such a level of control, such utter helplessness. With Adam, it had been obvious. He was stronger than her, of course, but Jenny knew what he was all about, and she knew that she could always retaliate if he pushed her too far. In fact, she had really enjoyed doing just that, when he tried to force her into dancing with him a few minutes ago.

With Terrence, however, there didn't seem to be any kind of limit. She had lost herself to the rumba, and to his lead.

_There was no freakin' "self-expression", or whatever he said the leader helps the follower do! There was no __**self**__ to express, even!_ - she thought vehemently.

There was no time, no ground, there was just the music and his presence, filling her with an external force that kept her moving and breathing. Now that it was gone she felt relief, but also a kind of emptiness. After experiencing something so strong, after feeling her entire world shrink to those stretching seconds between the steps, what else was there for her?

_Was this like the Stockholm Syndrome she had read about in psych class? - _she wondered.

Was she bound to him now? She would not refuse him if he wanted to use her to demonstrate something again. She would come when called. She would do as he said. She would dream about it every night, because ordinary life seemed empty now.

Jenny saw Sarah coming across the room towards her and attempted to compose her thoughts. Sarah's face showed concern, which surprised her. Most of the other girls were jealous of her and had come over pretending to be concerned but really looking for juicy gossip. She couldn't stand the sight of them, but Sarah was somehow different. Jenny found she was relieved when Sarah came slowly over and sat next her silently. It was comforting, somehow.

"You alright?" Sarah asked, trying to keep her voice low. Jenny looked shaken and pale, and strangely quiet.

"Yeah." she replied. "Just a little overwhelmed, you know? Like my world went upside-down for a bit and it hasn't put itself right yet..."

Sarah just stared at her. That turn of phrase was a little too familiar, and Sarah suddenly felt very raw around the edges. She looked up through her lashes, scanning the dance floor, and found that the teacher had been looking in their direction again.

"I know the feeling," she muttered, watching the lights of the disco ball glance off his face, so strange and yet somehow familiar at the same time.

Jenny shrugged as if saying _I seriously doubt it_, but didn't argue.

Sarah felt her memories wrap their tendrils around her again, and felt the call of their voices, their soft but insistent pull. But this time, she did not feel like resisting. She let herself gaze at him, let herself feel drawn. It felt like something molten in her stomach was spreading through her with slow warmth. She let herself wonder what it would be like to be near him. To feel _his_ warmth and _his_ breath just a few inches away from her own. Would she like it?

The warmth that was now spreading down her body told her that she probably would. Her mind was numb and distant, and her breath uneven. Slowly, she let herself think about him, about his body and his voice, about how he would approach her and look down into her eyes. About how he would stand so close to her, that she would feel the heat from his body and catch his scent. What would it be like?

There would be no contact, not yet. The silence between them would pulse with the promise of something frighteningly desirable - something not yet known, but already guessed at and half-imagined, like a shape in the dark.

Imperceptibly, the figure in Sarah's imagination acquired a hauntingly familiar set of mismatched eyes and a feathery cascade of pale-blond hair. And, strangely, that made the heat stab more strongly at her center, and her breath quicken.

Suddenly, she was aware that Jenny had sat up attentively. The lights had come back on, and Sarah noticed with a start, that one of her hands had stolen its way up the side of her neck. And she felt very warm. She blushed at herself, abruptly realizing the direction of her own thoughts.

_How can I even look at him now? _she panicked, thoroughly embarrassed. _I'm so glad he's looking away – imagine if he'd noticed me touching my neck like that! I'd never be able to face him again!_

Jareth had more than noticed. This evening was, truly, becoming unendurable. He had been the one to turn the lights on, unable to stand Sarah's thoughts any longer. His disguise was slipping, and it was becoming too hard to keep it in place. For a moment, he even thought that Sarah had seen through it, as she gazed at him. But her reaction had not altered - she had not started or looked away in fear like he thought she would. For a suspended few seconds, she had seen him, and her body's response was absolutely unequivocal. Had she realized it? Jareth wasn't sure she had processed what was happening. But his disguise wouldn't hold if this kept up, so he had to end the dance now, or he had to leave it – and as he had no intention of leaving Sarah alone with Adam, he decided that it was time to call it a night.

He let the dancers finish up and step off the floor, taking their seats on the side of the room. He had no choice. Desire coursed through him, white-hot and unbearable. His mind was full of Sarah, of her thoughts and of the emotions she had allowed herself to feel. He could scare believe it. Even now, he tried to suppress his own hope, afraid that he had simply imagined it all. He couldn't face the crowd of kids immediately, and he lurked in the shadows, trying to regain his composure.

Finally, he stepped out onto the floor.

"Alright, I think that that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the lesson and the dance..." he said smoothly. "I will be available for private or group lessons if you are interested," he added, thinking of ways to snare more time with Sarah.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Sarah that came forward. She sat still, too petrified of him to move. Jenny, too, didn't come running to beg for lessons.

_Such a pity... _But the rest of the girls were already lining up. Smoothly shifting tactics, Jareth turned to the old teacher:

"Are there any couples preparing for the upcoming competition?" he asked innocently. "If there are several, I would be willing to give them priority and hold a free group class."

Sarah was on pins and needles at this point. She saw Jenny give the girls bathroom a long, calculating look. But it was too far, and there was no way they'd make it without attracting the attention of the entire room. Jenny seemed to have come to the same conclusion, and sighed, resigned.

Meanwhile the old teacher was getting excited.

"Did you hear that?" He asked the class. "This is an great opportunity, and you'd better take it, or I'll kick you ass! Who have we got now? Lauren and Jake, Samantha and Brett, Adam and Sarah and Jenny and Mike are our competing couples this year. Have I forgotten anyone? Alright! These lucky four will get a lesson for free! The rest of you, if you don't get a slot - come again next weekend! We'll have another lesson for you right here. Good night and see you in class!"

"Lovely..." Jareth purred. "Couples, please see me before you leave, and we'll work out a time for our lesson."

Sarah was beyond panic now, too much to even glare balefully at Adam, who was striding over to claim her as his dance partner.

Jenny stood up disdainfully and stalked off in search of Mike, brushing roughly past Adam.

Sarah let herself be dragged off, feeling the butterflies dance through her body, retracing the path of the strange, unnerving warmth as, step, by unwilling step, she came closer to the smirking stranger..


	25. Chapter 25

Hello hello!

Thanks to all who have been reading and reviewing! Hope to get a few more chapters up soon.

Enjoy,

LadyTari

Chapter 25

The lesson had been arranged for next Saturday morning, with another dance at the old teacher's studio that evening. In exchange for the free lesson, the couples had agreed to help with the decorations. Sarah was shocked to discover that the theme was Halloween.

_It __can't __be __October __already, __can __it?_, she thought, trying to recall what month they were in. Time really hadn't been a priority, and she hadn't bothered with keeping tabs on it.

_Well, __crap!__What __on __earth __am __I __going __to __wear?_ flashed through her head first. But this thought was quickly replaced with worries of the coming lesson, the strange allure and haunting familiarity of Terrence, and her general distress at having to perform social roles, like decorating for a dance, in the immediate company of her peers. She'd always avoided such functions in high school. She'd successfully ditched homecomings, winter formals, spring formals and both proms. She really shouldn't have to put up with this now, when she was all grown up and in _college_, for heaven's sake!

But it was too late, as the rest of the competing partners had already agreed and were currently out getting slutty nurse, slutty bunny, slutty policewomen and probably slutty chipmunk costumes, for all she knew.

One year at college had certainly taught her much about Halloween. "Trick or Treat" took on a whole throng of entirely new meanings when coupled with kegs and cases of cheap alcohol and half-naked students running around the cold streets of the local student town.

Though Sarah preferred to think of it is a quaint, virtually unparalleled cross between Sin City, a third-world slum and an amsterdam brothel. With maybe a dash of the Bog of Eternal Stench and a pinch of the Goblin City chaos thrown in.

She tried to avoid it as religiously as at all possible, although visits to friends or the grocery store made it mandatory on occasion. She felt like taking a decontaminating shower after each of those fun-filled trips.

Tonight would be no exception. The decorations had to be discussed and buying chores delegated, and the rest of the group seemed to find only one place enjoyable enough to do it it – the Green Burrito. The veritable heart of the sticky, student-infested darkness itself.

Sarah wasn't looking forward to hanging out with Adam in any setting, but this one was jst too well suited to him to leave her any hope of coming out of it without incident. If only Jenny had stayed as nice as she had appeared to be at the dance... But that, too, had not happened.

The next monday, Jenny had acted like her typical self, strutting through the room and ordering everyone around. She insisted on reviewing the rhumba, telling the teacher that there were some kids who had no been at the dance and who had therefore missed the terrific and enlightening lesson. He had given way and let her do the demonstrating.

Jenny's partner, Mike, was definitely a poor stand-in for Terrance and botched the steps, completely obliterating the intended dazzling effect. Sarah was slightly dismayed to find herself grinning wickedly at the sight of Jenny's crash and burn. She didn't think she had much of a vindictive side, but there it was. She was definitely taking pleasure in the fail unfolding before her.

Thankfully, Adam had not come to the lesson, probably still nursing his ego in a corner somewhere, and Sarah could practice her steps in peace with her shy and awkward dance partners. She felt she had mastered the steps and could guide and teach them a bit. It was definitely a nice change to be the one in charge, and not be dragged about like a rag doll. She could also take a mental break from having to be constantly on her toes around Adam. Her guard came down and she enjoyed just letting her body move and not feeling the need to look over her shoulder.

Jareth, too, was taking a mental health day. He put a haggle of goblins (or was that a Higgle with goblins? He wasn't sure...) on crystal ball duty. They had gathered around the crystal which was trained on the ballroom, and seemed to be taking their job very seriously at the moment. He knew that the minute his back was turned, they'd break out the ale, but he hoped there would be no real mishap. Besides, Hogbreath would keep them on task to some degree, as the dwarf had developed a real loyalty when it came to Sarah's well-being. They were under strict orders to notify him at once if the girl-who-ate-the-peach-who-forgot-everything should look like she's in trouble or should, for some reason or another, vanish out of sight.

He knew Adam wasn't going to be around that day. _Mortals __and __their __unfortunate __clumsy __way __of __slipping __on __things __(like __invisible __goblins __who __turn __into __an __innocuous __pile __of __scarves __when __looked __at), __and __falling __down __the __stairs!_ he tutt-tutted, shaking his head in mock sadness. _Such __a __pity __they're __so __uncoordinated... _He really hadn't meddled much, as bringing a mortal to real harm intentionally was strictly forbidden. Aboveground privileges were revoked for a year for court feys and severely limited and monitored for fey royalty. And Jareth had no great desire to be either limited or monitored during his Sarah-time.

He watched Sarah relax and enjoy herself, noting the satisfied smirk on her face when Jenny and Mike tried to demonstrate the Rumba to the rest of the class. Then he took off as an owl, feeling the freedom as his wings carried him high above the Goblin City.

He'd have to clean the place up a bit if Sarah is to live and rule here, he thought to himself as he soared. It was a bit chaotic and foul even for his taste, though he made it a point to stay out of the private affairs of his goblin subjects. There was really no cure for their slovenly swinish ways – that's just how they were. But the constant drinking and partying and passing out and retching and orgying would have to be brought a bit more under control for Sarah's arrival. It really would be shocking to imagine her in a place like that!


End file.
